With its beginnings influenced by renowned Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, it’s no surprise that Star Wars remains a pop culture phenomenon in Japan. Attack on Titan manga creator Hajime Isayama, himself a respected figure in the industry, is no exception to the franchise’s charm, drawing a special artwork to celebrate the upcoming theatrical release of The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Instead of the standard crossover style that features characters and elements from both titles, it shows the former zipping through the air with his fibrecord whip — a movement evocative of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear used by the Survey Corps members in Attack on Titan — while holding Grogu in his arms. The illustration was also accompanied by a comment from Isayama on X/Twitter, who shared that he first watched the original trilogy (Episodes 4 to 6) in reverse with his host family in Idaho, and how words aren’t enough to convey how adorable Grogu is.
The artist joins a list of manga creators with a message for the film, including George Morikawa (Hajime no Ippo), Oh! great (Tenjho Tenge), Ken Wakui (Tokyo Revengers), and Atsushi Ohkubo (Fire Force). Previously, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and Andor joined forces (pun intended) on two mirrored collaboration visuals to commemorate the finale of Andor Season 2.
Releasing on 22 May in Japan and the U.S., The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first live-action Star Wars film in seven years and serves as a continuation of The Mandalorian Disney+ series. Pedro Pascal stars as Din Djarin/The Mandalorian, alongside Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) and Sigourney Weaver (Alien) as Rotta the Hutt and Ward, respectively.
As for Attack on Titan, the manga ran from 2009 to 2021 and has become one of the most popular titles, with over 140 million copies in circulation as of November 2023. Set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans, the story follows Eren Yeager, an adolescent boy who vows to exterminate the Titans after they bring about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
